AI research startup Listen Labs scrubbed a $1.5B funding round for Salesforce talks
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Listen Labs, a startup using voice AI to automate customer interviews and market research, recently signed a term sheet for a $125 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation led by Menlo Ventures, but the round did not close, according to people familiar with the matter. The company walked away from the signed term sheet, an unusual move in venture capital that is generally frowned upon. The financing reportedly collapsed amid acquisition talks with Salesforce, which has discussed buying Listen Labs for around $2 billion, though the discussions are not finalized and may not lead to a deal. Listen Labs is three years old and has roughly $30 million in annualized revenue, about three times that of rival Simile, which recently announced a $200 million Series B at a $2 billion valuation led by Greenoaks. If the Salesforce talks fail, several VCs expect Listen Labs to return to market seeking a valuation of $2 billion or higher. Salesforce may ultimately decide that paying a 67 times revenue multiple is too steep. Listen Labs was co-founded in 2023 by Florian Jüngermann and Alfred Wahlforss, and its AI generates survey questions, interviews customers over audio or video, and packages the results into reports and presentations. Its customers include Microsoft, Canva, Anthropic, and Sweetgreen, and it was previously valued at $500 million after a $69 million Series B in late January led by Ribbit Capital.
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